Ash Wednesday collection for Central, Eastern Europe

February 10, 2021 at 9:47 p.m.
Ash Wednesday collection for Central, Eastern Europe
Ash Wednesday collection for Central, Eastern Europe

EmmaLee Italia

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops take up a special collection every year on Ash Wednesday through its Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe. This year the USCCB is highlighting the Catholic community of the former Soviet-controlled country of Kyrgyzstan as its beneficiary.

The collection will take place in most parishes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. Those unable to attend Mass in person are encouraged to contact their local parish for giving options, including online donations.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, countries in Central and Eastern Europe have been laboring to rebuild religious life as well as governments, social welfare activities and economies. Catholics of that region endured decades of religious persecution under Soviet rule, and are in urgent need of help.

Each year the Collection for Central and Eastern Europe helps to support seminaries, youth ministry, social service programs and pastoral centers, as well as church construction and renovation in 28 nations once under communist control.

Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished nation compared to Switzerland for its beauty, was used as a Soviet gulag. Brutal communist dictator Joseph Stalin inadvertently revived the Catholic Church there when he used it as a prison for ethnic Poles and Germans who were deported from western Russia for refusing to abandon their faith.

In 2020, the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe awarded $6.1 million in funding for 323 projects in 25 countries.


Related Stories

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops take up a special collection every year on Ash Wednesday through its Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe. This year the USCCB is highlighting the Catholic community of the former Soviet-controlled country of Kyrgyzstan as its beneficiary.

The collection will take place in most parishes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. Those unable to attend Mass in person are encouraged to contact their local parish for giving options, including online donations.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, countries in Central and Eastern Europe have been laboring to rebuild religious life as well as governments, social welfare activities and economies. Catholics of that region endured decades of religious persecution under Soviet rule, and are in urgent need of help.

Each year the Collection for Central and Eastern Europe helps to support seminaries, youth ministry, social service programs and pastoral centers, as well as church construction and renovation in 28 nations once under communist control.

Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished nation compared to Switzerland for its beauty, was used as a Soviet gulag. Brutal communist dictator Joseph Stalin inadvertently revived the Catholic Church there when he used it as a prison for ethnic Poles and Germans who were deported from western Russia for refusing to abandon their faith.

In 2020, the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe awarded $6.1 million in funding for 323 projects in 25 countries.

Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Festival Choir presents 'Messiah' Christmas concert
The Diocesan Festival Choir presented a “Messiah” Christmas Concert

First Sunday of Advent celebrated in Diocese
Parishes in the Diocese joined the Church throughout the world in ...

Let it be done to me!
What if the best thing for us to do during Advent ...

FEATURE: Black Catholic hero of charity, fed by the Eucharist, inspires faithful to holiness
A candidate for sainthood who emerged from slavery...

Church fights a battle for young girls in Uganda, where child marriage is a plague
Lala Mbabazi, who is three months pregnant...


The Evangelist, 40 North Main Ave., Albany, NY, 12203-1422 | PHONE: 518-453-6688| FAX: 518-453-8448
© 2023 Trenton Monitor, All Rights Reserved.